Daytona officials knew of fire lieutenant's Warlocks gang affiliation

Monday

Jun 17, 2013 at 4:54 PMJun 17, 2013 at 8:57 PM

It was no secret to Daytona Beach city and fire officials that fire Lt. Brad Dyess was involved in a deadly shootout as a member of an outlaw motorcycle gang in 2012, a fire department spokesman said Monday.

LYDA LONGASTAFF WRITER

DAYTONA BEACH -- It was no secret to Daytona Beach city and fire officials that fire Lt. Brad Dyess was involved in a deadly shootout as a member of an outlaw motorcycle gang in 2012, a Fire Department spokesman said Monday. But because neither the city nor the Fire Department have a policy that prohibits employees from belonging to any kind of organization in their free time, and because Dyess was never charged in the shooting that erupted that September morning at a VFW Post in Winter Springs, he could not be suspended or fired after an internal investigation was done, said Lt. Larry Stoney. “There was no wrongdoing on his part, we can't just fire him,” Stoney said Monday. Last week, though, Dyess, a member of the Warlocks Motorcycle Club of Orlando, was suspended with pay, Stoney said. Cocoa Beach police said the 41-year-old firefighter — who goes by the Warlocks moniker “Dice” — beat his live-in girlfriend at their Cocoa Beach residence and Daytona Beach officers picked him up on a warrant, Police Chief Mike Chitwood said. Dyess was charged with aggravated battery, false imprisonment and shooting a gun inside a building, records show. Cheryle Lomeo told Cocoa Beach police the couple got into a physical fight last Tuesday at the home they share. Lomeo said Dyess grabbed her throat and slammed her into a couch, according to a police report. She said Dyess still had his hands on her throat when he grabbed a loaded .38-caliber handgun, pointed it at her and threatened to kill her, a police report states. Lomeo then said Dyess struck her in the head with the gun and fired a round near her head, according to the report. Dyess was arrested on the warrant Thursday afternoon. He was released from the Volusia County Branch Jail at 2 a.m. Saturday on $17,500 bail, a booking officer said. Stoney said an internal investigation is underway concerning the Cocoa Beach incident. This is the second time in less than a year that Dyess has been investigated internally by the department, Stoney said. After the shooting at the VFW Post in Winter Springs on Sept. 30, 2012, Stoney said both the city of Daytona Beach and the Fire Department investigated Dyess' role in the incident that left three Warlocks dead. The Daytona Beach News-Journal requested in writing Dyess' personnel file and any closed internal investigations concerning the lieutenant on Monday morning. The request to the city clerk went unanswered. In the September shootout, Dyess and four other Warlocks — three of whom were killed — were riding their Harley-Davidson motorcycles to the VFW Post on Edgemon Avenue to participate in a Poker run for charity, according to an incident report from the Winter Springs Police Department. When the five Warlocks who belonged to the Warlocks of Orlando chapter arrived at the VFW Post parking lot, the shooting broke out almost immediately, Dyess later told investigators. The bullets were coming from another Warlocks group — known as the Harpies of Philadelphia — who had emerged from inside the VFW Post and wanted the Orlando Warlocks off the property, the report shows. Dyess told investigators he pulled out his own gun as he saw one of his “brothers” fall in front of him. He said he ran toward a wall and jumped over it, the report states. The document does not mention whether Dyess was shot. The fact that the Warlocks have been pegged an outlaw motorcycle gang by the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms had no bearing on Dyess' status with the Fire Department, Stoney said. Over the years, the group has been infiltrated by federal agents who have arrested numerous members for murder, drugs, guns and explosives violations. The U.S. Department of Justice identifies the Warlocks as one of more than 300 “outlaw motorcycle gangs” whose members use their motorcycle clubs “as conduits for criminal enterprises.” When asked whether any firefighters had been questioned about Dyess' gang affiliation and whether anyone had noticed any Warlocks tattoos on Dyess, Stoney did say the Fire Department has a strict policy regarding tattoos. The policy, put in place last year, prohibits any markings that are “disrespectful or disgraceful,” Stoney said, and they “must be covered up.” Stoney said if Dyess or any other firefighter had tattoos before the policy became effective, they would be grandfathered in. Stoney also said that in light of the Dyess case and his link to an outlaw group, the Fire Department would be working on policies with the city's Human Resources department. “We will definitely get with City Hall to determine what needs to be done,” Stoney said.

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